BERKELEY – Recognizing Cal's contributions to women's swimming and longtime status as one of the elite programs in the country, seven Golden Bears have earned a spot on the College Swimming & Diving Coaches Association (CSCAA) list of the 100 greatest women's swimmers of the past century. Each of those honored is an Olympic medalist and multi-time NCAA champion.
 
Those earning the honor are: Kathleen Baker, Rachel Bootsma, Natalie Coughlin, Missy Franklin, Caitlin Leverenz, Mary T. Meagher and Dana Vollmer. The selections were made as a part of the CSCAA's 100th year celebration.
 
Baker (2016-18) earned a silver medal in the 100m back and gold on the 400m medley relay at the 2016 Olympics, and she is an eight-time medalist at the World Championships. A former world record holder in the 100m back, she was named the 2017 CSCAA Swimmer of the Year after winning three individual titles – 100 back, 200 back, 200 IM – at the NCAA Championships. Baker repeated as NCAA 200 back champion in 2018.
 
Bootsma (2013-16) was a three-time NCAA champion in the 100 back (2013, 2015, 2016) and was a part of two title-winning relay teams, helping Cal to the 2015 NCAA team championship. An Academic All-American, she was a member of the 2012 Olympic team, winning a gold medal as part of the 400m medley relay.
 
A former world record holder in the 100m back, Coughlin (2001-04) captured a remarkable 12 medals over three Olympic Games, including five in 2004 and six in 2008. A 12-time NCAA event champion, she was a three-time Pac-12 Swimmer of the Year and two-time recipient of the Honda Sports Award for swimming. Coughlin was also the 2003 Women's Sports Foundation Sportswoman of the Year, the 2002 USA Swimming Athlete of the Year and the 2002 Swimming World female World Swimmer of the Year.
 
Franklin (2014-15) was named the 2015 Pac-12 Swimmer of the Year, 2015 CSCAA Swimmer of the Year, 2015 CoSIDA Academic All-American of the Year and winner of the 2015 Honda Cup as the top collegiate female athlete. That season, she won three individual NCAA titles as Cal captured the national team championship. A two-time Olympian and six-time medalist, she won five medals at the 2012 Games, including gold in the 100m and 200m back, 400m medley relay and 800m free relay. She also won 17 medals at the World Championships.
 
An Olympic bronze medalist in the 200m individual medley in 2012, Leverenz (2010-13) earned a gold medal in the 200m breast at the 2007 Pan American Games and bronze medals in the 200m IM and 400m IM at the 2010 Pan Pacific Championships. While at Cal, she was a three-time individual and three-time relay NCAA champion, and in 2012, she was named the Pac-12 Swimmer of the Year and recipient of the Honda Sports Award as the top female collegiate swimmer. In addition, Leverenz was the 2013 Pac-12 Scholar-Athlete of the Year for women's swimming.
 
Known as "Madame Butterfly" during her competitive years, Meagher (1983, 85-87) is a three-time Olympian who was a triple gold medalist at the 1984 Olympic Games in Los Angeles, winning the 100m fly and 200m fly, both in Olympic-record times, and the 400m medley relay. While at Cal, she captured the NCAA title in the 200 fly four times and the 100 fly twice. She received the Honda Sports Award for swimming in both 1985 and 1987, and was selected the overall winner of the Honda Cup in 1987 as the nation's outstanding female collegiate athlete.
 
Vollmer (2007-09) was the 2009 National and Pac-10 Swimmer of the Year as a senior when she led Cal to the NCAA team championship. She won seven NCAA races with Cal, including individual wins in the 100 fly (2007), 100 free (2009) and 200 free (2009). She competed in three Olympics, claiming seven medals, including gold in the 100m butterfly in 2012, and over her career, she set a world record six times and won 35 medals at international events.
 
Nearly 3,000 athletes were nominated for the CSCAA top-100 team, with a blue-ribbon panel of current and former college swimmers, coaches and members of the media making selections from a list of 973 finalists. Eighty-seven swimmers and 13 divers were selected. They hail from 28 states and 13 countries. Highlights of the selections include 12 members of the International Swimming Hall of Fame and 59 Olympians.